Telecommunications companies have been building remote telecommunications equipment sites (remote sites) for many years. The remote sites allow for electronic equipment, which is necessarily or preferably located near end users, to be located much closer to an end user than a central office location would customarily allow. Some examples of the types of equipment that may be required to be within close proximity to end users include, but are not limited to, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) equipment, fiber optic node equipment for expanding high definition (HD) capability, cell towers, as well as many others.
The remote sites generally include one or more metal cabinet-type housings that can range in size, for example, from 2′×4′ up to a 6′×8′, depending on the type and amount of equipment required for a particular location. In some instances, the housings may be located directly on a hard surface, such as a concrete pad, at ground level. Frequently, however, the ground level is prone to flooding or other environmental conditions that require the site to be elevated.
A few methods have been used in the past for elevating electronic telecommunications equipment sites. Forming ledges out of dirt into berms, using timber to raise the elevation of the equipment, or constructing block walls are all time consuming and relatively expensive methods that are common today. Across some parts of the United States, using an elevated metal platform, similar in appearance to a miniature oil-rig, has become widely accepted as the industry standard. These elevated metal platforms are not very aesthetically pleasing, can be time consuming to construct, and generally lack design flexibility.